The Seekers
by Agirl2Nerdy
Summary: Summary:  Ariadne knows that to maintain her sanity she must return to reality before she turns out like Cobb.  But this is easier said than done especially when Arthur turns up in the middle of the night with a strange warning.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Ariadne knows that to maintain her sanity she must return to reality before she turns out like Cobb. But this is easier said than done especially when Arthur turns up in the middle of the night with a strange warning.

Chapter One

Ariadne sat at her desk on her fourth cup of coffee for the night. It was only eleven but it felt much later. Even after all these months she was still having difficulty readjusting to time in the real world. She could almost see it swirling around her like waves. Cobb had warned her about this. Sometimes time in the real world felt as if she were aging decades and decades in a few mere hours and other times it was too fast for her to keep up with. Sometimes she barely had time to check her watch and hours had flown by. She had missed several exams this way leading to awkward meetings with her course advisors and angry phone calls from her parents. How was it that such a good student, the best that had come by in such a long time was suddenly doing so badly?

Of course her previous good record had saved her neck and she'd be allowed to do makeup exams but it was still a struggle. Dark rims under her eyes she sipped at her coffee staring at her practice papers. She hadn't slept properly for weeks. Somehow the real world was feeling more and more like the dream one she had gotten used to.

Suddenly there was a hand on her shoulder and despite the soft touch of it's owner Ariadne jumped out of her skin. She looked up to see Arthur a small smile on his lips. It was always hard to read the emotions of someone like Arthur but Ariadne could tell he was pleased to see her.

"Arthur!" she cried out. "What are you doing here?" A quick glance at the clock confirmed that it was still only a few minutes past eleven.

Arthur peered over her shoulder examining her paper. His dark hair was slicked back neatly as always and he was dressed in one of his many suits. He looked just same as the last time she saw him except for slight circles under his eyes. It figured that the first thing he would do upon seeing her in weeks that had felt like years was to check her answers.

"The working out for number five is wrong" he said simply though the smile didn't leave his face.

Ariadne broke into a smile unsure if she wanted to punch him on the shoulder or to throw her arms around him. She realized though that Arthur wasn't the most affectionate or expressive person so she refrained from either.

The look on her face made him smile in the dim light of her study. "It's good to see you Ariadne" he said simply and Ariadne felt her heart flutter a little. She wanted to tell him that she had missed him but was too embarrassed to do so.

"How do you even get here?" Ariadne got up from her chair, she was always very careful to look the door of her apartment. There had been too many robberies in this area for her to be complacent.

"I have my ways" Arthur finally opened up his arms inviting Ariadne for a hug. Surprised by the sudden show of affection Ariadne fell into his arms breathing in his cologne. She was so glad to see him that she forgot her worries about how easy it was to break into her flat.

Arthur held her against him for a moment before stepping back and stroking her cheek. Ariadne closed her eyes for a moment wishing that time would slow down for them but of course it didn't.

"What are you doing here?" she repeated trying to regain her composure.

Arthur took a deep breath. "We have a new mission and we need-"

"No" Ariadne blurted before he could finish. "I told Cobb, I told _you_ that I can't do that anymore. My life is already messed up enough".

"Ariadne" Arthur pleaded his voice taking on it's usual impersonal tone. "You may not have a choice".

Ariadne stood back confused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that Fisher's subconscious defenses were more aggressive than we first thought, it seems his company has developed this new type of technology which is able to-"

Before he could finish his sentence Ariadne felt a shudder that jolted the whole room and recognized it immediately as a kick. She hadn't even realized that she'd been dreaming. God she thought she was past that stage. She'd grabbed onto Arthur who was looking around worried.

"I thought this might happen, Ariadne you have to know that this is not a dream!" he clutched onto her desperately. "This is the only way we can get this message to you, meet with your design lecturer tomorrow and he will explain more-"

Another jolt and Ariadne was awake before Arthur could finish. She clutched at her sides where he had held her and sighed. Then realizing what had just happened she panicked reaching inside her coat pocket she drew out her totem, a pawn that she had crafted herself and clutched at it tightly. She was back in her own world. Her own world without Arthur.

It wasn't the first dream that she had that revolved around him. In fact she more or less had dreams with him every night. Dreams that were so vivid that she could almost believe that they were real she wanted them to be real but she had to tell herself they were just her own projections.

After Fisher's inception Ariadne had vowed to return home to her studies. She couldn't live the life that Cobb and Arthur did unable to know what was real and what was not.

Biting her lip she recalled what he had said about Fisher's subconscious security and to meet with Cobb senior the lecturer that had convinced the academic board to allow Ariadne to continue her studies. But she couldn't do that could she? That would be validating the dream world at the cost of the real one. That had to be her world now otherwise she would spend her life seeking dreams where she could be with Arthur. In the real world he probably didn't even feel the same she had to accept that this was her life now.

But the niggling feeling in the back of her mind told her that she should at least meet with her lecturer tomorrow there couldn't be any harm in that, could there?

_Thanks for reading, this is my first ever movie fic so feedback is really appreciated :)_


	2. Chapter 2

The Seekers

Chapter Two

Ariadne fiddled with the cap on her pen trying to stay focused on the lecture. But whilst the lecturer struggled to get the slides working she found her mind drifting. She had debated with herself all morning about her dream last night.

She tried to tell herself that she wasn't like Cobb and the others. She was still capable of having her own dreams. Her own meaningless dreams. She had not been exposed to the mindshare technology so much that she had lost that ability. That's probably just what it was she decided, just an average dream about a guy that she badly wanted to see again but probably never would. Ariadne sighed.

But she just couldn't shake the touch of Arthur's hand gently stroking her face. She had never felt something so vivid in a normal dream before. So vivid she could even recall it properly now. Biting her lip Ariadne looked up at the clock above the slides. It was eleven thirty only halfway through the sleep inducing lecture. At the end of it she would have an hour break. Perhaps she could find enough time to see Cobb senior before her next class. What harm could it possibly do? It wasn't as though the old academic had never seen anyone struggle with reality before. After dealing with his son he couldn't think that she was that crazy.

Now that she had finally resolved to meet Cobb Senior she felt herself growing restless. She could barely keep herself from looking at the clock tapping her pen against her folder annoyed at how slow the class was going.

She started to draw strange looks from her surrounding classmates none of whom sat anywhere near anymore. Ariadne had always been more focused on her studies than her social life but she had had friends before her 'work placement' with Cobb. That had quickly changed when she returned from the Fischer mission.

Ariadne had gathered up her books long before the lecture finished as soon as the teacher turned off the slides she flew up from her chair almost running out of the class. The other students stared at her in disbelief but Ariadne was too occupied to care. She was growing used to the social isolation she had brought upon herself.

Hurrying down the corridors she told herself that this was crazy. She had told the team that she was no longer interested in working for them despite their eagerness to have her permenantely on board. She knew that she had to leave then if she was to have any chance of returning to her normal life. But it was difficult, every day just got harder. It was almost like she didn't belong in reality anymore.

Rushing towards the old Professor's favourite lecture theatre Ariadne couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her. She threw suspicious glances over her shoulder succeeding in gaining more bewildered stares from her fellow students.

Ariadne waited until a group of first year students walked by whispering and muttering before peering into the room. Just as she expected old Miles was sitting there at the lecturer's desk his papers spread out all over it. A cup of coffee by his side a pen in one hand.

She knocked at the door before slowly pushing it open and stepping inside. Miles looked up from his newspaper surprised to see her.

"Ah Ariadne" the old lecturer tried to smile but Ariadne didn't' miss the underlying concern in his eyes. She bit her lip feeling like a nuisance. She had already caused him so much trouble, if it wasn't for his support, she wouldn't still be studying here and she definitely wouldn't have kept her scholarship and now she was going to trouble him again.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Sir I've come to ask you something" Ariadne replied not exactly sure where to begin.

"I see, something purely academic I suppose" Miles asked his eyebrows raised.

"Um no, not exactly" Ariadne said taking a tentative few steps forward. She didn't know what to say. She wasn't exactly sure how much Cobb Senior knew about his son's work and all the technology that it involved.

"Ariadne" Miles sighed taking his glasses off so that he could look at her directly. "You know I don't approve of my son's line of work, what he does it changes people, makes them unable to recognize what is real and what is not. I think it's best that you stay as far away from it as possible. You made a good decision in returning to your studies".

"It's not that I'm thinking of going back to work for him" Ariadne blushed. "It's just I had an odd dream last night in which Arthur appeared and told me I had to come to see you urgently, that I was in danger" she looked away for a moment pausing to order her words. "I remember him warning me that I wasn't actually dreaming and what I was experiencing was real".

There was silence between them for a moment as Miles tried to put together what she had just said.

"You are saying that he projected himself into one of your regular dreams and this was not of your control?" Miles asked rubbing his chin in thought.

"I think so, I mean how else do you explain it?" Ariadne asked relieved that Cobb senior did appear to have some understanding of projections and how they worked. It saved a lot of time that she would have spent explaining it to him otherwise.

"Well Ariadne have you considered that it may just be a normal dream, if a particularly vivid one?"

Ariadne nodded out of all the possible explanations this one seemed the most logical but she just couldn't accept it. She wished that she didn't feel so disappointed but it was obvious now that Cobb senior didn't have a special message for her. He wasn't as Arthur had promised going to explain it all.

"It's just-"

"Difficult adjusting I know" Miles nodded sympathetically. "And from what I can gather it's quite normal for people to have particularly strong recollection of dreams after going through the dream share training. You're definitely not in any danger at least none that I know of".

Ariadne nodded feeling like a small child who had just received an answer to a stupid question. "I'm sorry to bother you sir, I'll let you get back to your paper".

"Very well" Miles smiled kindly. "Enjoy your classes, feel free to come see me especially if it does involve something academic".

"Yes sir" Ariadne nodded before leaving the lecture theatre closing the door behind her.

She took a deep breath as she walked slowly down the corridor the feelings of disappointment intensifying but at least if last night was only a dream she could go back to a life far less complex as she intended to.

Ariadne was just coming to grips with the idea when suddenly a gloved hand clasped her mouth, strong arms restraining her.

"Come with me" a familiar voice whispered in her ear. "You're not safe here".


	3. Chapter 3

The Seekers

Chapter Three

Ariadne struggled for a moment her cries for help muffled under her captor's hand. Suddenly the entire hall was deserted there was no one around to help her. Fear flooded through her veins she was full of adrenalin that she had no outlet for. The stranger had her completely immobilized.

"Ariadne please you can continue to struggle all you please but we both know that I am much stronger and today I am also on a vary tight schedule so I would appreciate if you could keep the kicking and screaming to thirty seconds maximum so we can get going" her captor sighed.

Ariadne's body relaxed when she recognized the voice and the sarcasm of her captor.

"Eames?" she hissed underneath his hand which was quickly removed. "Wh- what's going on?"

She wanted to reach inside her coat to find her totem but the Englishman still had her restrained.

"There's much to discuss Ariadne, you, me, Cobb, Arthur we're all in big trouble understand, you must come with me now" Eames whispered it was strange to hear him speak so seriously normally he took the piss out of everything.

She managed to break free of his grasp looking up at him with shocked eyes. She was finally able to pull her one of a kind chess piece from her pocket and hold it firmly in between her hands. No, she was not dreaming.

"Come with you where?" her heart was still beating fast as her head struggled to figure out what was going on. "Eames what's going on?"

"Ariadne, Cobb and Arthur are waiting for you, I wish I could explain it to you but we're being watched and I'm not particularly good at drawing pictures or with hand puppets".

He had tugged at her arm urging her into a brisk walk beside him. Ariadne's head spun with confusion. She had no idea what was happening or what she was doing but she couldn't deny the adrenalin rush either. She suddenly felt a lot more purposeful than she had done whilst she was slaving over her essays at crazy hours in the morning.

It was the same sort of feeling she had when she had walked back into the Inception operation with Cobb. She had tried to stay away the unstable nature of Cobb's subconscious frightened her but that world held too much promise for her as dangerous as it was.

"Can we talk now?" she asked as the pair of them walked quickly out of the building almost on the verge of a run. She struggled to keep up being much shorter than the Englishman. People around her were beginning to stare, sure, that was nothing new but she didn't want to alert any suspicion.

Eames cast a weary eye around at the on lookers. Trying to lead someone out of danger was a new experience for him. If he had been alone he would have been able to escape quiet easily just by making a turn down a corridor or by disappearing into a crowd. His skills as a forger translated quite well from the dream world to the real world. That was why the team had elected him to go and find Ariadne after all but with her smaller frame practically jogging to keep up it had become more difficult than he had first thought.

"Not yet" Eames said trying to slow his pace so that they would look a little less conspicuous even know he knew that he had to get her out of there as soon as possible.

Ariadne tried not to let her frustration. She knew that Eames as well as the rest of the team weren't exactly used to hanging around with younger people but they hadn't never talked down to her. They had always valued her intelligence even if some of them like Cobb didn't always acknowledge her efforts. This was the first time that Ariadne had felt like a child in a long time.

It wasn't until they had left the university grounds that he finally began to talk. Ironically they had just stepped out onto the bridge that Ariadne had reacted in one of her first lessons. It felt surreal almost as if she couldn't trust it.

"We underestimated Fisher" Eames began feeling a little more relaxed now. "We thought that his subconscious was armed with fairly adequate security but we didn't expect this".

"Expect what?" Ariadne raised her eyebrow. Eames had a bit of flair for dramatic storytelling but this was over doing it a bit much.

"Ariadne you know that all this technical science stuff isn't exactly my forte" Eames snorted. "But from what I can explain Fisher had implanted a sort of tracking device called seekers used to track intruders in his subconscious".

Ariadne's took a moment to get her head around the concept. "And what do these seekers do?" she asked.

"We're not exactly sure yet, but we know they're not planning to implant ideas that will make us rich and famous or improve our tap dancing skills".

Ariadne snorted at his flippancy before considering the seriousness of the situation. "So it's possible that I have a foreign visitor within my own subconscious wrecking havoc right now?"

The possibility terrified her. What could it be doing to her? Extracting information? Manipulating her dreams her thoughts her mind? Not implanting ideas and changing her very being? She shivered at the idea and continued to walk faster.

Eames nodded. "We're working to understand the technology as quickly as we can before it has potential to do any harm if it hasn't already. Arthur believes he has heard of a similar vice that aims to extract the information from the intruder to find out why they were intruding in the subconscious in the first place".

_Arthur. _ Ariadne didn't mean to freeze for a moment at the mention of his name. That dream she had the other night had it been just a dream or was that the point man trying to contact her?

"Eames, none of you have tried to contact me before have you?" she asked not wanting to bring up the dream directly.

"God you ask a lot of questions" Eames sighed. "When Cobb was teaching you this you just seemed so accepting took it all on board without ever asking anything. No, we came to find you as quickly as possible".

"So where are we going?" Ariadne had so many questions swirling around her head she didn't know which was to ask next.

"You'll see, it's not far, everyone is waiting".

"Everyone?" Ariadne squeaked her heart stopped knowing that at any moment she would be face to face with Arthur again. Somehow the fact that an alien source could be hacking her brain suddenly seemed a less significant.


	4. Chapter 4

The Seekers

Chapter Four

Eames ended up leading her to an abandoned warehouse much like the one they had used to plan the Fisher mission. Ariadne felt an odd sense of dejavu as Eames pushed the large doors open for her and she stepped inside. Her footsteps echoed across the large empty room. There were bits and pieces of equipment strewn about the place some that she recognized some that she didn't but it was completely devoid of people except for Eames and herself.

Her head was still spinning with confusion. She had always been a smart girl but she was still trying to figure out what was going on. Eames was unusually silent and frustratingly so. That guy typically loved the sound of his own voice and would use it even when it wasn't necessary.

"Eames! Is that you?" A familiar voice called out and Ariadne looked up to realize that Cobb was walking towards them. His handsome face looked tired and worn as if he hadn't slept for days. Ariadne doubted that this was far from the truth. There was a flicker of happiness in his eyes that changed his whole face when he saw her. Ariadne wanted to smile back but the extractor's worn down appearance worried her.

Cobb was dangerously thin as if he had not only been neglecting to sleep but to eat as well. His hair was longer, his face unshaven and he had several new wrinkles across his brow that Ariadne had not seen before. Nevertheless he greeted her with a strong hug that almost choked her with his enthusiasm.

"Ariadne I'm glad you're here" he said taking a step away the strong smell of cigarettes following him. Ariadne had to cough for a moment trying to clear her lungs and her head. She was glad to see Cobb but not in this state and not in these circumstances. The formalities would have to wait.

"Cobb what is going on?" she blurted unsure of what else to say. She was still in shock with Cobb's appearance despite all the danger he had put her through she did still care deeply for the man.

"That's what we're trying to figure out" Cobb sighed looking away. "We believe that Fisher's subconscious was armed with some sort of tracking or attacking device as part of his personalized security system. We're not sure exactly what it does but we know it isn't good. Arthur and Yusef are just running some tests now".

Ariadne's heart sped up. _Arthur. _ It was ridiculous how even just a mention of his name could make her forget everything else if only for a second. She shook herself trying to regain focus but she could already feel her hands getting clammy.

"Tests" Ariadne squeaked then quickly cleared her throat trying to become composed. "What sort of tests?"

"We're trying to identify and isolate the attaching source by luring it into a controlled dreamspace" Cobb jerked his head indicating for Ariadne to follow him. Eames remained behind occupied with his own work. "Arthur believes that the virus takes the form of people in your dreams, most accurately the people you care most about".

Ariadne's did another double take. The night when Arthur had appeared in her dream flashed before her eyes. She was so sure that it had been him. Was there really a virus attacking her mind?

"But I'm not to sure about that" Cobb shot her a strange look that was hard for her to read as the pair of them made their way down a flight of old and rusted stairs.

"Dom what if Arthur's right?" Ariadne felt a cold fear slowly fill the bottom of her stomach like icy water. "What if the virus is taking on the form of a loved one?"

Cobb turned around to face her his tired eyes sharp. "Why? Have you experienced something like that?"

"No" the words quickly left Ariadne's lips before she had a chance to think about them. She blushed. She didn't want to tell Cobb she'd been dreaming of Arthur even the Arthur in dreams was only a virus.

"Okay" Cobb didn't seem convinced but he didn't push for answers. "Well if Arthur's theory is right then we have a very complicated mission ahead of us".

Ariadne rolled her eyes as Cobb held a door at the bottom of the staircase open for her. There was a smirk on his lips as though he enjoyed being secretive. Ariadne couldn't stay mad at him when she had other pressing issues on her mind perhaps literally. She had to talk to Arthur about that night. Whether he actually had appeared in her dreams or not. The more she thought about it the more and more worried she got that his form was actually a virus. She had no idea how someone even someone as intelligent as Arthur could just insert themselves into someone else's dreams.

If it wasn't anything more than a dream then it was an amazing coincidence that Eames had met her outside Cobb senior's lecture theatre the morning after the Arthur in her dream had told her to seek his help. She had to talk to Arthur as soon as she possibly could.

She walked on through the door to see Arthur laying back on a makeshift bed. His eyes closed his arm hooked up to a heap of devices. Yusef sat by him with a clipboard focused on taking notes but Ariadne barely noticed him.

Arthur showed no signs of wear and tear like Cobb did. He was impeccable as always in a crisp suit an expression of softness on his face. Ariadne smiled realizing how young he looked when he was asleep. She was nearly overcome with a desire to go over to him and stroke his smooth cheeks but reminded herself she had to focus.

Arthur was linked up to a large computer that showed an electronic graph with different coloured lines that kept rising and peaking at different rates and intervals. Ariadne stared at it quizzically for a moment trying to figure out what it was. She didn't know much about psychology but she thought it looked sort of like a CAT scan except the graph didn't follow conventional patterns. They were difficult to read and Ariadne wondered how exactly they might be interpreted.

"Ah Ariadne" Yusef looked up from his clipboard and smiled at her. "It's good to see you, I fear we might need an Architect of your caliber soon enough".

"Hello Yusef" Ariadne tried to smile back at him but really she could see the real world leaving her once again. So much for all that makeup work. "How's it going?"

"Not well I'm afraid" Yusef said looking over his notes again. "I have Arthur in a deep level of sleep whilst I monitor his dreams. If there is a foreign source implanted in his subconscious then it should show up here" he pointed to the screen before turning back to face Arthur. "But so far nothing is showing up".

"How does this work?" Ariadne asked peering closely at the monitor that continued to show the different colour lines in their different stages.

"If an alien source should appear in Arthur's mind then this line here" Yusef pointed to the top line on the computer monitor with his pen. "The subconscious mind can only recognize a foreign source when in dreams unless it's especially strong which of course we hope it's not. If the foreign agent is highly active Arthur will become alerted to it's presence and his subconscious will attempt to attack it, like you saw when you entered Cobb's subconscious".

Ariadne nodded slowly trying to digest the information. She was slightly annoyed that Arthur was the guinea pig for this experiment. The high level sedative that Yusef was using meant that he was unlikely to wake up anytime soon. At least it gave her some time to work out what to say to him and to fix her hair.

"We first thought these were tracking devices, seekers used to monitor our thoughts" Yusef continued. "But the way they can simply disappear altogether it makes me wonder".

Ariadne bit her lip her head swimming with new information.

"I need your help" Cobb said turning to her. Ariadne had almost forgotten that he was there she had turned her eyes back to Arthur and his delicate sleeping face.

"Um sure" she shrugged trying to look as though she was not fussed before slowly following Cobb into another room.

_Thanks for reading. Sorry this update took so long. Next chapter should be up much quicker. Reviews are loved :)_


	5. Chapter 5

Seekers

Chapter Five

Cobb led Ariadne to a small room further on. He quickly closed the door behind them as if worried that someone would follow them in.

"What is it Dom?" Ariadne asked concerned. In the past even when she could clearly see that he was troubled she'd had to go to great lengths to get him to talk about it, even when it meant he was putting all their lives at risk. She knew whatever it was had to be something very serious for him to come to talk to her.

"I think I may have set off Fisher's security devices," Cobb said slowly. He was uncharacteristically shameful and for a moment Ariadne felt like she was a school principle who had just called a naughty kid into her office.

"What do you mean?"

"You remember the inception mission when we were in the second level of Fisher's dream?"

Ariadne nodded blushing slightly. How could she forget? Whilst Cobb was out to find Fisher tricking him to break into his own subconscious she had been waiting with Arthur who explained what Cobb was doing. She knew that a lot of people viewed Arthur as a robot, bland with no personality to speak of but she knew better than that. She knew that he could be quite cheeky when he wanted to be. His eyes had a way of lighting up in a mischievous way.

"I believe that in opening up Fisher's subconscious I gave him access to my own allowing the security to infiltrate not only my mind but everyone else in that dream level".

"And what do you think these security devices are capable of? Ariadne was trying to remain calm but Cobb's nervous behaviour was not making it easy. She knew that she had to be as composed as possible and approach this the same way she would an exam. If she was anything other than objective and rational she could ruin everything.

"I fear that these devices may be able to slowly attack our subconscious when we dream. They could do anything corrode our memories, alter our perception, make us question what is real and what is not-"

"How can you know about this?" Ariadne asked fighting to keep her voice calm. "This doesn't make any sense".

"I've seen it before" Cobb spoke slowly slumping against the wall. "It's like a virus in a computer once we come in contact with the infected software our systems are corrupted. Fisher's subconscious was armed with these viruses. We just don't know what these viruses have been designed for they might want to just eradicate the information we learned about Fisher or they might be programmed to destroy our minds completely".

"What happened with your friend?" Ariadne asked softly unsure of how well Cobb was going to respond to a question.

"It was a long time ago" Cobb said regaining some of his businessman like composure. "When I was first learning this business I was training alongside other new extractors. There was one guy Mason who was very talented at a very early age kind of like yourself Ariadne".

Cobb paused for a moment to offer Ariadne a small smile a rare moment of acknowledgement. Before she had a chance to smile back Cobb's face had fallen back into a frown. "The first couple of jobs we went out on were simple tasks, the rest of us struggled but Mason excelled. He was so confident in what he was doing that I think we all misjudged his ability. He was sent on a far too complicated mission and was too cocky about it. He alerted the dreamer to his presence but this time there weren't multiple layers of dream for him to hide amongst. The subconscious began to attack to him we thought he would be lost but luckily we weren't under for that long. We thought everything was fine until a week later".

Cobb took a long breath pausing to think before continued. Ariadne watched him intently a cold feeling of dread slowly sinking in.

"The seekers took a while to activate but slowly we could all see that he was loosing his mind. He was constantly unsure of whether he was dreaming or not. It's what prompted Mal to come up with the idea of talismans. He claimed to remember things that had never actually happened. They were simple things as first slight variation of events, moments in history then he slowly became convinced that Mal was trying to kill him and that he had to kill her before she got the chance".

"Mal?"

"She trained with me yes," Cobb said. "One night when she was over at my place and Mason turned up at the door armed with a gun insisting that he had to kill Mal before she could take over his mind. The virus hadn't taken her form and shape in his mind and he believed that she wanted to sabotage him. He was hysterical I'd never seen anything like it. He was sobbing and screaming- the complete opposite of the man I knew. I managed to wrestle the gun from him but I couldn't restrain him. In the struggle he drew out a knife and wounded himself.

Mal called an ambulance. He was shouting about waking up from a dream the medics thought he was insane and he was eventually committed to a mental institution. A week later our old point man received a call from Mason's doctor. The doctor had run a few scans and was confused by the results. Mason's brain patterns were so irregular that he shouldn't have been able to function. In layman's terms the doctor said it looked like an external source was slowly breaking down his brain cells. A virus he had never seen before much less heard of. It was if someone had inserted a cancerous cell into his body, a month later he was dead".

"Our point man conducted masses of research into Mason's target and discovered that the company he was working for were developing these viruses which they were planning to sell off. It was a threat to our whole industry. We were fortunate that the technology used to develop these devices was so expensive and rare that they were near unattainable. Unfortunately the Fishers have more money than they know what to do with. I believe they purchased these devices and I exposed us to them".

"We've done a lot of investigating but so far tests have been inconclusive. I believe that they've improved the technology so that the devices are harder to track".

"Then how do we know they're the same devices? How do we know that they're there at all?" Ariadne's voice was hoarse.

"Ariadne" Cobb sighed before placing a hand on her shoulder comforting her as if he were her father. "Arthur is starting to show the same symptoms as Mason had".


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Cobb managed to catch Ariadne before she fell to the ground. She was too shocked to be embarrassed about her sudden weakness in front of him. Arthur couldn't die!

Breathing fast Ariadne felt the room spin around her. Her hands sweaty and shaking she felt she was going to explode. Cobb tried to steady her holding onto her tightly.

"There must be away to stop them!" she shouted.

"Yusef is working on it at this very moment Ariadne, he is very talented. Arthur is in the best hands he could possibly be in".

"That's not enough" Ariadne breathed in sharply. She was not an emotional girl she barely raised her voice let alone shouted like this Before she had met Cobb she had been a very controlled individual who knew exactly what she wanted and how she was going to get it. Now she had lost that control and didn't know what to do anymore. All she could think about was Arthur and how she didn't want to loose him.

"Ariadne calm down" Cobb was holding her close to him in a suddenly very unfatherlike manner. He withdrew from the hug to place two hands on her shoulders and look her in the eyes. "This is why I called you here".

Ariadne looked up at him surprised by his steely blue eyes that seemed to strike her own. The roles were suddenly reversed. She was the silly child and he was the educator. "It's not just because I had to warn you but because I also need your help".

"How do you mean?" Ariadne asked slowly regaining her composure.

"We need to enter Arthur's subconscious and lure the virus out".

Ariadne's tears stopped. She was relieved that there was a solution and suddenly embarrassed that she reacted the way she had. She'd always suspected that Cobb knew about her feelings for Arthur. She had no idea how he knew and it concerned her sometimes that he could read her so well but at least there was no need to be so secretive around him anymore.

"So what do we do?" Ariadne asked trying to wipe up her tears in the most dignified way possible.

"It's just like an extraction job with a few minor adjustments" Cobb smiled as if the extra challenges amused him. "It won't be difficult to access his subconscious, we can tell him we're simply running a test. The difficulty is going to be in concealing our presence from him else we alert the virus. For that I need you to build the most elaborate dreamscape that you're capable of".

"Why me?" Ariadne folded her arms. "I thought you were able to build mazes yourself now".

"Arthur knows me too well. He'd recognize one of my mazes straight away. You on the other hand he is not so familiar with". Cobb's tone was suggestive and Ariadne blushed before a thought occurred to her.

"But how can we trick Arthur into this? He spends as much time in dreams as he does in reality he able to recognize that's he's in a dream in a second".

"I'm not saying it will be easy but we definitely stand more of a chance if you design the dream scape"

The world of study and reality that Ariadne had worked so hard to maintain had all but slipped away as Ariadne realized that she would be committed herself this to world all over again.

"Besides" Cobb continued a strange look on his face. "As sick as it sounds in this way the virus will actually work in our favour. If Arthur reports dreams about us then we can blame the devices if anything suspicious arises".

"You're right that is sick" Ariadne frowned she didn't think it was right to tamper with someone's head like that especially when their grasp on reality was slippery enough already.

"We're not exactly spoiled for choice here Ariadne" Cobb said growing annoyed. Ariadne was surprised despite the obvious stress that Cobb was under Ariadne knew that he wasn't the type of man to yell and lose his temper. The only time she could think of was when they first found out that Fisher's subconscious was actually armed once they entered his dream. But Arthur and Cobb were like brothers free to express their emotion to one another.

"I'm sorry" Cobb stepped back after he saw the hurt in her eyes. "It's just we don't' have a lot of time. I know how quickly this virus takes over".

"Eames called them seekers" Ariadne questioned and Cobb turned back to her a flash of anger in his eyes and for the shorted moment Ariadne thought he was going to hit her but he instead took a deep breath.

"You know how Eames is with his little jokes, forget it" he said shortly.

But Ariadne wouldn't' and she made a note to ask again later when she knew more about what was going on.

"So what's our strategy?" she asked eager to turn the conversation around into some positive action.

"We have to think about what sort of scenario we're going to bring Arthur into. Eames and I already have some ideas but nothing's decided yet".

Ariadne opened her mouth to ask Cobb was he had in mind when Arthur suddenly appeared before her. She had to blink to make sure her eyes weren't tricking her. But when she had paused for a moment she realized that the dark haired man was standing there just a few feet from her a puzzled expression on his face. Cobb didn't seem to have noticed at all even though Arthur was only standing right beside him.

"Arthur?" Ariadne cried confused. She had no idea how he had just emerged like that. "You're meant to be in testing".

"Ariadne" Arthur muttered softly as if he were in great pain.

Cobb was staring at her strangely but he still hadn't turned back to look at Arthur even when he had spoken.

"Ariadne what are you talking about?" Cobb said his eyes full of worry and concern. "Arthur isn't here".

"What?" Ariadne's body filled up with an unpleasant icy shock. She started to shake by now she was so unnerved that she could barely articulate her thoughts.

"Ariadne" Arthur sighed slowly reaching out to stroke her check brushing by Cobb who still didn't seem to notice him. Ariadne closed her eyes despite the confusion his touch felt nice it brought peace to her for a second. "Ariadne you can't do this" he said.

"Arthur I-" Ariadne tried to speak the words but they just wouldn't come out it was as if she had suddenly turned mute.

"Ariadne" Cobb said more sharply gripping onto her hsoulders so tightly that it hurt. "Arthur isn't here".

Ariadne was so confused that she felt dizzy. She tried to grab hold of them both to steady herself. It didn't work and she just fell to the ground. "What is going on?" she tried to ask but couldn't and suddenly both of the men and the whole world around her had disappeared.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Strange blobs of light were floating before Ariadne's eyes. She felt herself spinning around endless space before coming crashing to the ground.

Groggily opening her eyes she saw the faces of four concerned faces peering down at her. It took her a moment to realize where she was and when she did the panic set in immediately. She sat bolt up right and four pairs of hands were quick to hold her down as if they were worried that she was about to escape.

"What's going on?" she said suddenly aware of Arthur's hand on her shoulder. His gentle face full of concern. This wasn't how she expected to meet with him and her anxiety disappeared a little. In other circumstances she may have even smiled.

"You blacked out" Cobb explained straightening up and looked back down at her his eyes just as concerned as Arthur's. "Just relax for a moment, don't get up".

Ariadne sat completely tensed up on the deck chair that they laid her on her mind was fluttering with all the possibilities. What the hell had just happened? She remembered Arthur appearing before her trying to tell her something and Cobb insisting that he wasn't there but that was it.

Her blood froze. The Seekers must have infected her too, Cobb must have been wrong. They must have implanted themselves in her subconscious and were now affecting her memory. The thought that there were foreign agents inside her head manipulating her mind was enough to drive her crazy. She let out a small, uncharacteristic shriek. All this fainting and blacking out she was quickly turning into a wreck if she weren't so afraid she'd be embarrassed.

Her vision cleared and everyone came sharply into focus. She was impressed but not surprised that Arthur remained so neat. He was impeccable as always her eyes skimmed over his suit before returning to his face. He was almost perfectly handsome. His eyes flickered towards her own and she blushed knowing that she had been caught staring.

Eames cleared his throat loudly and he and Yusef stepped away. Dom was not as observant.

"Guys can you give me and Ariadne some space please?" Cobb cleared his throat and Eames and Yusef leant back their eyes still intensely examining Ariadne as if they cold tell what was wrong with her just by looking. Arthur remained by her side. His hand still on her shoulder.

"You'll be okay Ariadne" he whispered. "It's good to see you"

"Arthur?" Cobb hinted raising an eyebrow.

Arthur reluctantly let go of Ariadne and slowly stepped away so that Cobb could crouch down beside her and talk with her privately. Ariande's eyes followed the dark haired man as he stepped away wishing that she could have greeted him more appropriately.

"Are you alright?" He asked gruffly. Ariadne knew that Cobb must have been really worried about her it took a lot for him to do the whole emotional reassurance thing.

Ariadne turned to face Cobb. "I am infected aren't I?" she said.

Cobb's face contorted with a rare uneasiness. "I can not be sure there are lots of different ways that the dream share technology can impact on you. You only blacked out that happens naturally for normal people in stressful situations".

"But I saw Arthur" Ariadne insisted and Cobb looked surprised.

"Can you tell me exactly what happened? Every little thing that you can remember?"

Ariadne recounted the details of the episode to the best of her ability but even as she spoke little fragments memories were disappearing as it all became disjointed in her head.

"I think we might need to have Yusef run some tests on you" Cobb spoke softly. "I don't want to alarm you but I think it's best to be sure. This episode doesn't sound like the same thing as Arthur's and I'm pretty positive it's not but it's still strange".

"Thanks Cobb" Ariande rolled her eyes. She was glad that the blonde man despite his intelligence hadn't become a doctor or a therapist.

Cobb helped Ariadne up from her chair and the pair of them strolled over to the others. "I think it's best that you go home for today" Cobb spoke more loudly letting the others know that it was okay to be listening in to their conversation. "Take some rest, go see some friends, catch up on your studies and come back when you're ready".

Ariadne's head was still reeling. She was surprised by Cobb although she desperately wanted to get away for a while she also wanted to know what the hell was going on. She was both eager for and scared of those tests.

"I'll take her" Arthur insisted getting up from his chair almost immediately. The chair crashed titled and crashed on the ground with a loud bang as a result of the sudden movement. Eames looked at Arthur and shook his head trying to hide his amusement.

Cobb looked at Arthur critically as if he didn't think this was such a good idea. Ariadne wasn't sure if it was either but she desperately wanted it to happen. It was like waiting for permission from her father as a teenager to go to a park with a boy she liked.

"It's probably not best for her to be alone at the moment" Arthur's usually crisp professional manner was hijacked by uncertainty for a moment.

Cobb's eyes narrowed before he nodded. "Okay, just remember you have work to do".

Arthur chuckled regaining his composure. "Sure boss" He joked.

Ariadne said an awkward goodbye to the other guys in the room before leaving with Arthur. She was still shaking trying to figure out what was going on but whatever it was Cobb seemed to think that it could wait. Still she was more than glad to have Arthur coming home with her.

"I'm sorry that this is how we have to meet again" he said once the pair of them were out on the street and walking amongst the everyday crowd who were completely oblivious to the complexities of the dreamworld.

Ariadne paused to think over his words so that meant that it was only dreams that he had come to her in, nothing more even if they felt so real.

"Yeah well Cobb doesn't really organize karaoke or movie nights does he?" Ariande tried to joke. The fact that she was so close to Arthur was almost enough to make her forget about those wretched seekers. She could feel the warmth radiating off his body and wished that she could snuggle up next to him. He was so difficult to figure out the guy could be seem so emotionless so cold but she knew there was a playful side to him as well.

"It's been busy Ariande, our business has become even more lucrative but more dangerous" Arthur sighed before a cheeky smile picked up on his face. "If it was the type of job I could send a postcard from I would".

Ariadne smiled still finding it difficult to believe that even in light of the circumstances they were having such a casual conversation. She searched Arthur's face as if trying to find something different about him something that would show that his subconscious was under attack. But of course there was nothing he looked as cool and composed as possible.

"How are your studies going? You must only have a few years left" Arthur continued.

"Yeah" Ariande looked away. "Not so good. It's just been difficult getting back into it all". She wanted to tell him that she missed their world and most of all that she missed him but that was the stuff of corny romantic comedies. Ariadne highly doubted that Arthur was the type of person who watched corny romantic comedies.

"It is difficult" Arthur agreed. "I couldn't do it, I admire you for it".

Ariadne turned to him surprised. "Really?" A hot blush crept across her face she kept her focus on the concrete path in the hope that he wouldn't notice. "I mean it's nothing compared to what you're doing".

Arthur shook his head but couldn't think of anything to say. The pair of them continued to walk back to Ariadne's flat in silence. Ariadne's swinging arm accidently brushed up against his side.

"Sorry" they both said at the same time before awkwardly smiling at one another and turning away. Ariadne wondered how much Arthur knew about the Seekers or if in fact he knew anything at all. The pair of them had very little in common as it was but they could talk about the smallest thing for hours somehow that just wasn't translating today. She glanced back at his hand wondering what he would think if she was just to reach out and grab it.

The pair of them walked in silence for a few more moments. Ariadne's eyes darted around the streets looking for any small thing that could be a means of topical conversation but she was let down by the usually inspiring streets of Paris.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Arthur asked watching her quizzically his brow furrowing with concern.

Ariadne nodded quickly. "Yes just still a bit dizzy" she smiled trying to reassure him but he had stopped staring off into the distance like a rabbit in headlights.

"Arthur?" Ariande looked at him surprised. "Arthur I said I'm fine don't worry".

But it was obvious when Arthur had forgotten about her by the way he was staring. He had frozen completely still except for his wide blinking eyes. Ariadne shook him gently starting to grow worried.

"Arthur? What is it?"

"It's Mal" Arthur muttered. Ariadne's heart stopped as she looked up to follow Arthur's gaze. She saw the tall, dark haired woman and hoped for a moment that it was just a remarkable lookalike but then Mal's cold eyes met theirs from the other side of the street.

Arthur tugged desperately on Ariadne's hand urging her to run with him. "Come on!" he hissed.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Ariadne had never been good at sports so keeping up with Arthur was something of a challenge. The gun ran swiftly and smoothly without a hair out of place whilst Ariande sweated and panting along behind him. She was sure that her head was going to explode. Unless Mal had a twin sister lurking around then she had a very good reason to run.

Ariadne desperately wanted to check the inside of her coat for her totem but she was afraid that if she did now then it would fall out of her hands and she would literally loose her gasp on reality.

"In here" Arthur gave Ariadne's hand a tug and she followed him into a gap between two buildings that was too small to even be considered a laneway. Suddenly thrust up against Arthur's chest Ariadne momentarily forgot about the present danger as his cologne engulfed her. He looked down at her the pair of them was so squashed up against each other that Ariadne could barely concentrate.

"You're not going to ask me to kiss you again are you?" she tried to joke hoping that it came out much smoother than she thought it did.

Arthur's serious face broke into a grin. "I think you've been subjected to enough trauma for one day".

Ariadne tried to look away disappointed that Arthur had effectively closed that opportunity down so quickly. The two of them stood panting for a moment trying to slow their heart rates. A few moments passed and Mal did not dramatically peer around the corner as Ariadne had been expecting.

"So-" Ariande tried to clear her throat but she could still feel Arthur's breath ticking her cheek. "What the hell is going on?"

"I wish I could tell you" Arthur said moving back in to the open street. As soon as Ariadne had room to move out she checked in her coat pocket. She sighed a sign of relief when she felt the tip of her totem piece.

"You're not dreaming" Arthur reassured her showing her his own totem.

"I almost wish I were, that would at least make sense" Ariadne sighed. She couldn't believe that they were going to casually walk back to their apartment now. She wanted to tell Arthur what Cob had told her but didn't know if she could.

"It was definitely her, I never would mistake her ever" there was a strange look in Arthur's eyes that Ariadne couldn't read. She figured she had bigger problems at the moment.

"She's dead Arthur" Ariadne muttered wondering why it felt weird to say.

"I know" Arthur nodded gravely. Ariadne could almost see sadness in his eyes. He turned to her. "There comes a time in this job where nothing really makes sense anymore, let's go home".

The pair strode off casually at a much slower speed slowly blending in to the crowd around them who were more concerned with due days, business meetings, what to buy for birthdays and upcoming job interviews than people messing with the subconscious. Ariadne honestly didn't know what to think she wondered if the Seekers could disable her capacity for rational thought and logic. It certainly felt that way. If the pair of them were not dreaming then they must be going mad. But then as far as Ariadne knew you didn't share delusions when you were going mad.

She gave an exasperated sigh and Arthur patted her shoulder. "Please don't stress Ariadne, we'll figure this out, let's just get back to your place and I'll call Cobb".

Ariadne nodded though she didn't know how beneficial calling Cobb about his dead wife would be. Arthur noticed the confusion on her pale face and reached down to grabbed her hand squeezing it in a comforting way.

Ariadne's heart stopped for a moment. It was so strange that holding hands with Arthur was as dramatic as running from a dead woman but it was. She wasn't sure what to do but she had to admit it felt nice and she squeezed his hand back. Arthur didn't let go until they had finally reached her apartment. Ariadne looked up sheepishly at Arthur this wasn't the way she had expected to bring him home and it was something that she thought about often.

"I've just got to-' she said pointing to the lock on the door and Arthur dropped her hand in an instant.

"Oh yes of course sorry" he said looking away. Ariadne pulled out her key and fumbled with the lock.

"It isn't much" Ariadne said pushing the door open and letting Arthur in. She was quite ashamed of the building sometimes. Everyone always thought that architecture students would live in grand designs of funky new aged buildings but here she was in this rundown block of apartments.

"It's fine" Arthur said stepping inside. He looked so strange against the backdrop of her apartment completely out of place in his crisp suit against the brick walls. "You should have seen where I was living when I was a student".

Ariadne laughed she had difficulty imaging Arthur ever living somewhere that wasn't insanely organized. "What did you only dust four times a day?"

Arthur rolled his eyes before following Ariadne down the corridor and to the door of her apartment. "All right miss is it okay if I call Cobb".

Ariadne nodded not trusting herself to speak. She was so confused she couldn't decide whether she felt like screaming or crying more. She settled on silence walking into her room so that Arthur could make his call in peace.

It was strange to go back to her textbooks after all had happened but they still lay there just as she had left them in her room as if nothing had changed as if she was just a normal student again. She could hear the low rumble of Arthur's voice knowing that she shouldn't listen in but she really wanted to at the same time.

She fingered through her textbooks counting the pages that she should have read by now. She flipped through her diary and saw the due dates highlighted in yellow and sighed. How was she ever going to get back on top of this now?

"Yes I understand that Dom" Ariadne's head turned at the sound of Arthur's raised voice. He was frustrated. Ariadne closed her diary and walked to her door.

"Yes I know" Arthur repeated sounding frustrated. Ariadne peered around the door she could see Arthur pacing back and forth entirely focused on whatever Cobb was telling him. "Yes Dom yes" his voice fell away into a whisper. "I'm concerned too. Look I'm keep an eye on her tonight we'll be back when we can be. Okay bye".

He hung up and Ariadne quickly ducked around her room pretending not to have listened. What were they talked about? Why was Arthur concerned? Was he concerned for her? She heard Arthur's footsteps coming her way and she quickly moved over her desk pretending to look for something.

"Are you all right?" Arthur asked stepping into her room.

"Yeah" Ariadne said turning around. "I'm just looking for my books".

"Can I help?" Arthur asked.

"Um sure" Ariadne blushed trying to decide on what she was actually looking for. "It's just a textbook, it's pretty small, green covering black letters".

Arthur bent down at her desk it felt weird knowing that he was going through her stuff. "Is this it?' he asked holding up the book Ariadne had mentioned.

"Yeah um thank you" Ariadne said as Arthur got up and put the book into her hands his fingertips brushing against hers. They looked at each other for a moment.

"You're not going to study now are you?" Arthur asked his body was very close to Ariadne's. She could almost feel it pressing against her.

"I don't think I can" Ariadne just managed to squeak the words out she could barely concentrate and yet he was staring at her so intensely.

"We'll figure this out I promise" Arthur said in a very un-Arthur like voice catching Ariadne off guard. She was about to reply when he quickly moved into cover her mouth with his own and she quickly forgot all she was about to say. Their kiss deepened and Arthur pulled her towards him. Ariadne sighed deeply as Arthur slowly began kissing her neck. It was so sudden yet Ariadne didn't care she let herself get lost in it all. Arthur returned to kiss her mouth again their lips melting together with a sense of urgency now. Arthur tugged at Ariadne's jacket until it fell to the floor with a clutter.

The loud bang of a heavy object hitting the floor distracted the pair for a moment. Ariadne separated herself from to see what it was. Kneeling on the floor she searched through her jacket to see her totem on the floor.

"ARiadne?" Arthur asked reverting to his more clinical manner. It was hard to believe that just a moment ago he had been kissing her so passionately.

"It's okay" Ariadne smiled. "It was just this".

She ran her hand over it's familiar surface when her heart stopped. There was an unfamiliar red line on the bottom of her otherwise black chess piece.

"Oh God!" she gasped.

"Ariadne?" Arthur said grabbing her to steady her. "What is it?"

Ariadne's face was deathly white it was as if in one moment all the life had drained out of her. "This isn't mine".


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

"Ariadne you're shaking", Arthur was quick to put him arms around her but Ariadne shook him off just as quickly.

She closed her eyes pushing her hands to ears as if hoping to block him out. "You're not real", Ariadne said. "I'm not really here I need something-"

Her eyes darted around the room for something sharp, anything would do really.

Arthur watched her in a mad panic. "Ariadne what are you doing?" he asked. She didn't answer him. She didn't want to validate him any further. He wasn't the real Arthur, she should have known that. The real Arthur wouldn't have suddenly kissed her like that. No, unless she had dropped her totem and picked up something that looked like it (which was she was sure she'd something she would never do) she was in someone else's dream. So Arthur was a projection.

A very enticing projection.

Ariadne shook her head trying to focus back on her task. She needed to find something sharp. Something that would kill her and wake her up back into the real world. She was starting to doubt whether she had met with Cobb at all, that she had ever been kidnapped by Eames, or warned by Arthur. No, it was all one big long dream. That was all that made sense!

Opening up her desk drawers she found a compass. Whoever the architect of this dream was had definitely done their homework. Not a detail was missed.

"Ariadne!" Arthur said grabbing onto her. "What are you doing?"

"I just need to wake up", Ariadne said rolling back her sleeve and finding a suitable vein.

"That's going to hurt", Arthur warned.

"Only for a little while" Ariande said preparing her arm so that she could do it right in just one strike of her arm.

"No for a long while, you're not dreaming Ariadne and neither am I" Arthur tried to tell her but she wasn't prepared to listen. She didn't want to get into an argument with a projection all she wanted was to get home.

"If this is a dream", Arthur spoke again, his voice softer this time. "How long do you think it's been going on for?"

Ariadne paused struck by the question.

"Do you think Cobb put you under back in the warehouse, because if you do, you've probably been in a dream state for a few hours".

"I'm not listening" Ariadne said still not looking at him.

"And if it's Cobb whose put you under and entered your mind without letting you know then you can be assured then there isn't just a quick trip. You're here for awhile Ariadne" Arthur said and Ariadne dropped the compass and stared at him.

"That is if you really believe you're dreaming" Arthur added and Ariadne frowned. At a complete loss.

"So what do I just sit around and wait?" she asked exasperated. "Why would they be hacking into my mind anyway?"

Arthur shrugged. "You're assuming that they are and this isn't reality", he looked concerned. "I really think you should get some rest, I'll wait with you, if it makes you feel any better".

Ariadne's mind was in a swirl of doubt. She never thought that loosing one tiny chess piece could send her through so much doubt. Madness close to sweeping her mind suddenly she was unsure of anything anymore. She was half tempted by Arthur's offer of rest but scared by it as well. She had to keep focused.

"I don't understand", she was close to tears now and Arthur let her fall into his arms. He pressed her head against his chest and stroked her hair. Ariadne was glad for the comfort even if it maybe wasn't real.

"Please rest Ariadne, I can't stand seeing you like this" Arthur whispered into her hair. The offer was gradually growing more tempting. If this a dream then she would have to wait for it to pass anyway. And if Arthur was there beside her then it needn't be such a bad dream.

Slowly she nodded and Arthur smiled. He pressed his lips softly against his forehead and Ariadne shivered. That was a kiss that was more like him. Almost uncannily so. What if she wasn't dreaming. What if she had to get her reading done for tomorrow's tutorial and woke up unprepared. She doubted that her tutor would accept her excuse of pretending the homework was all part of a dream.

Arthur saw that she was growing flustered and tried to settle her.

"Hey it's okay, I'll be here, I promise, I can go back to Cobb in the morning when you've gone back to class".

Ariadne couldn't help that this felt like she was being tricked somehow but she let Arthur pull back her sheets and lay her on her bed. Not in the way that she would have liked of course but his touch still felt unbelievably good even if he was only a projection. But it didn't stop the feelings of dread following through her. Professor Cobb had been right. She should have never gotten mixed up in this. She should have returned to her studies like she had originally planned then she would have never got into any of this trouble.

Laying back in her bed she felt incredibly tired as though she had been running for a very long time. Her heart was still racing but her mind could no longer put itself through further turmoil by over analyzing everything.

She was surprised when Arthur took off his shoes and lay down beside her reaching out for her hand. "In the morning this will all be over and you can go to your class and back to see Cobb if you want to" he muttered.

Ariadne nodded. She was suddenly feeling almost eerily calm. It was an odd feeling but she didn't mind it. Arthur was right. Even Yusef didn't have a drug that could keep her unconscious that long. If she fell asleep in the dream now it should be over by the morning. And if she woke up as normal in the morning then she would just go on with her life as normal. Smiling to herself she gripped Arthur's hand back. Conveniently forgetting about the Seekers if only for a moment.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Ariadne woke the next morning with Arthur's arms still around her. She had been curled into his body her head against his shoulder. His usually neat clothes had crumpled over the course of the night. She was still unsure if he was real. Or just an attractive part of her imagination. He certainly did feel real, the warm breath against her cheek the slow movement of his chest rising and falling as he slept onwards. She stared at him for a moment, compelled to run a finger over his smooth face. He looked so beautiful sleeping softly beside her.

He stirred at her touch and she quickly withdrew her hand. She didn't want to wake him when he looked so peaceful. She was only just beginning to understand the kind of demons that were occupying his head. She wanted to let him rest.

But it was too late, her light touch was enough to wake him as he shifted his position away from her. Ariadne immediately missed his warmth. He blinked slowly, his eyes struggling to adapt to the light. When they did he immediately moved away from, judging from his wide eyes, he seemed almost embarrassed to be caught holding her like this.

"Ariadne!" he said moving into an upright position before quickly hoisting himself off the bed, smoothing out the clothes he had fallen asleep in. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be inappropriate". He looked away, his pale cheeks getting as close to a blush as possible.

Ariadne couldn't help smiling. His embarrassment was almost cute. But that didn't distract her for long enough before the reality of her situation slowly crept in to her consciousness. Was this the real world or just another dream? It felt real, but Cobb and Arthur were the experts. How could she have been so stupid in loosing her totem? And why it was replaced with such an obvious fake? If Arthur really was at threat of loosing his mind because of the seekers, as Cobb believed that he was there was no way that he would allow sending Arthur back with her after she had just experienced a hallucination, or whatever it was. Nothing made sense. She felt like she was getting pieces but she was struggling to put it all together. Why was this happening?

She blushed when one pressing thought kept rising to the top of her mind. Had he really kissed her like that the other day? Surely, that couldn't have been real. As much as she wanted it to have been. She looked at his soft lips feeling a sudden urge to press her own mouth up against his. To see how it would compare to the kiss and touch that she could so vividly remember. But she couldn't think of that, not now.

"It's fine," she said turning away from him so that she could think clearly. There had to be another way to test this reality? Cobb may be a skilled extractor but he couldn't trick her into revealing all her secrets about everyone in her life No, if this was a dream she had to find out how to break it's boundaries. Cobb could only set up a certain scope and use one of the other team members to guide her through it. If so this was Arthur's job. But what Cobb have to gain through examining her subconscious?

Ariadne thought back to all the moments that could be questionable in reality. First there was Arthur appearing before her in her apartment, then he appeared again when she was with Cobb but only Cobb couldn't see him, then finally there was the appearance of Mal as she and Arthur were heading back to her apartment.

The first two visions of Arthur could be explainable, even if she hadn't fallen victim to the seekers, Cobb had warned that she may have difficulty reverting to a normal life. Dreams were likely to be more vivid, hallucinations were common, they weren't a sign of a disintegrating mind. No, she could almost ignore those first two occurrences but the fact that Mal had appeared before them, clear as day was troubling. That was a sign that something was seriously wrong. That her reality had been alerted, but by what and why she wasn't sure.

"Are you all right?" Arthur asked tenderly the embarrassment fading from his eyes.

"I'm not sure," Ariadne said only half paying attention to him. How to push the boundaries of this dream? Cobb had expected her to return to her classes before resuming her work with him. That was clearly what he had expected her to do. As if she could simply return to normal classes now, with all that was happening to her.

"What aren't you sure of?" Arthur asked his eyebrow furrowed. He looked so different with his clothes rumpled like that.

Ariadne looked at him quizzically. She was almost annoyed with the question. "Why aren't you telling me what's going on? What are you hiding from me?"

It was unlike her to go for the direct challenge. She wasn't sure what possessed her to do it but it definitely drew a reaction from Arthur.

He looked at her in surprise. "Ariadne I don't-"

"What's happening to me?" Ariadne asked. She couldn't still be in the dream now could she?

Arthur stepped back from her surprised at this sudden outburst it wasn't like her at all. "Ariadne, I don't know what you mean, your totem has gone missing, but you're in in the real world now, you always have been."

"And what about Mal?" Ariadne fired going straight for the hole in his logic.

Arthur shrugged. "I've spoken with Cobb, it is possible that we are both feeling the after effects of the dream share technology, we could both be hallucinating."

"And we're experiencing the same hallucinations?" Ariadne asked doubtfully. Was he lying to her? What wasn't he telling her.

"It's strange yes, but it is possible, we were both part of the same dreamscape, our minds have been altered to observe and exist in that reality, we may be carrying it over to the world we see now."

Ariadne couldn't believe him. It was true that what he said rolled off his tongue quickly and well as if it were solid fact but Arthur was an intelligent man. He could be just as easily making this up on the spot in order to deceive her. Ignoring him she got up from her bed and pulled a coat over her clothes.

"Where are you going?" Arthur asked staring after her.

"I've got to find Cobb," Ariadne explained quickly getting her bag together. "I've got to find out what's going on."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Arthur could do little to stop Ariadne as she made her way back to the warehouse where Cobb and the others were working. She was so determined and driven by the mad fear that she was loosing her mind. It would have been cruel to stop her even if it meant so much trouble.

Ariadne kept shooting Arthur strange looks over her shoulder as the two of them walked quickly along the streets of Paris. Try as she might, she hadn't been able to shake him and had given up trying. She had to get to Cobb, perhaps she would be able to loose him then and find out what really was going on. She was so overcome with her own suspicions and fears that she couldn't think straight anymore.

Although, she had to admit, that despite all that was going on, today felt surprisingly normal, almost suspiciously so. The sights, sounds and feelings matched up perfectly with her own experiences and memories. There was an odd sense of calm as she passed the people out on the street, who were involved in their own daily business. They were separated from her completely, they weren't just simply projections of her subconscious. She felt a little better.

There wasn't anything in this world that shouldn't have been there. No projections of former colleague's lost wives or rotating buildings. No, it almost felt normal. Ariadne could feel the relief slowly flowing through her as she relaxed slowly.

She caught Arthur giving her a strange look that she couldn't identify. "What?" she had to ask, slightly annoyed at his secrecy.

"You look more relaxed than I've seen in awhile," Arthur said extending his hand to her. "I'm glad."

Ariadne took hold of his hand smiling back. She did feel slightly better, especially holding onto his hand and having him walk beside her but she wasn't going to let her distract that from her task ahead. Though, she perhaps let it slow her pace a little and she began to walk at a more normal pace back towards the warehouse.

It didn't take long to get there of course. Ariadne let go of Arthur's hand to push back the heavy doors that creaked open almost as if they were reluctant to do so. The pair of them were met with resounding silence, the warehouse looked as if t was completely hollow. A new panic rose in Ariande, Cobb and the others couldn't have just left without telling them? Could they?

Forgetting her earlier calmness she pushed on ahead searching for any sign that Cobb and the others had been there recently but all of the equipment seemed to be gone. She turned to Arthur desperately. Surely at the very least Arthur had to know something. They wouldn't leave him on his own with a strange virus running rampant in his mind, would they?

"Ariadne," Arthur said clasping her arm. "It's all right, they'll be here."

How could he be so calm?

He was right of course and Ariadne looked up at the sound of rushing footsteps coming from another room.

A moment later Cobb had appeared, a horrified look on his face. Ariadne hadn't seen him look so terrified or angry, not even when they first discovered that Fisher's had undergone defensive training to guard his subconscious. Suddenly she was afraid of him of what he could do. All the earlier feelings of relief and even happiness disappeared completely as she caught her breath.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked and Ariadne jumped at the sharpness in his tone. He marched over, fury blazing in his eyes, his features as thin and worn as ever. He looks old, Ariadne thought, much older than he is.

She cringed as he approached but then she realized that he wasn't directing the question at her but at Arthur who stood tall and erect as always. His emotions hidden behind a mask of calmness. Ariadne had a sudden desire to hide behind him, as if she could use him as shelter from Cobb's anger. This was not how she had expected to find the extractor. He was so furious but also so weak as if he was at his wits' end.

"Cobb, please calm down." Arthur said slowly, he wasn't the type who was effected by emotional outbursts in an argument, somehow he maintained his ability to remain calm and think critically. "We're simply coming back to base, to check in, Ariadne's feeling much better-"

Cobb's next action was unexpected. He grabbed Arthur by his collar and shook him. Even Arthur was surprised and instinctively grabbed back in his defense.

Ariadne ducked away scared. "Stop!" she pleaded. "What are you doing?"

But she was completely ignored by Cobb whose mad eyes were locked onto Arthur's. His hands still around his neck, not loosening a bit.

"You are going to destroy her by doing this, you do know that?" Cobb said and Ariadne stared.

"Cobb," Arthur said, his composure beginning to slip a little. "You need to stop this, you're being ridiculous."

His calm words had no effect in fact they seemed to anger Cobb more. He pushed Arthur away with such force that the taller man almost fell.

"You're the one to speak! Bringing her here like this! What's your plan exactly? What are we going to do now Arthur?"

Ariadne wasn't sure if she was more scared or angry, whatever the case, she wasn't happy that they continued to talk about her as if she wasn't there. Cobb hadn't even acknowledged her presence for God's sake.

"Wait! What are you guys talking about? What plan?" Ariadne asked latching onto Cobb's arm but he still refused to look at her. Instead he shook her off as she were an insect without a single word of reason.

"She wanted to come here!" Arthur's composure slipping by the second. "I couldn't stop her!"

"That was your job!"

"Don't ignore me like this!" Ariadne said lunging for Cobb grabbing onto him and finally his eyes turned towards her gleaming with his anger but he still did not say anything.

As Ariadne opened her mouth to argue with him, she heard a far of rumble as if some far off place had been struck by a powerful earthquake. Cobb and Arthur heard it too and they looked up distracted from their current argument. The anger in their eyes was soon replaced by fear.

"What is it?" Ariadne asked more softly.

But before they could answer a much stronger quake shook the earth threatening the stability of their warehouse. The foundations were shaking pieces of tile and concrete began to tumble down splattering on the warehouse floor. The thunderous sound bursting Ariadne's eardrums.

"We need to get out of here!" Cobb yelled over the noise gathering up a struggling Ariadne in his arms and running from the building, Arthur close behind them.

A/N Thanks for reading!


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Ariadne clung to Arthur as they fled from the warehouse. The ground itself was crumbling beneath their feet. Ariadne's breath caught in her throat. Arthurs arms gripping her as he sped away.

"What's going on?" Ariadne shrieked but even in the sharpness of her voice was drowned out by the deafening sound of the collapsing buildings.

They fled the street just as the old warehouse fell inwards with a sickening crash leaving behind a mass of broken timbers and metal.

The three stopped, breathing fast. Arthur slowly lowered Ariadne to her feet but her legs wobbled as her feet found the hopefully steady surface.

They had only just escaped being crushed. The three of them stood in aware, staring at the great building that had they had only just been standing in which was now reduced to rubble.

"All the equipment," Cobb sighed when he was finally able to speak. "All the research, everything, we'll have to start all over again."

"A small price to pay for our lives Cobb," Arthur said looking solemn. His arms were still around Ariadne and she was welcoming of the comfort.

Cobb nodded slowly his eyes on the ground. He muttered something, something that Ariadne could not hear but something that make Arthur's jaw tighten. Ariadne saw the expression on the dark haired man's face but she did not hear the words that left Cobb's lips. She frowned.

Just when they thought all was safe Ariadne heard a large bang almost like a gunshot. Cobb and Arthur turned to look at each other questioningly.

"What was that?"

Before either could answer another gunshot was fired this time a bullet missing past Ariadne's ear only just missing her. Arthur jumped in front of her shielding her with his body, he sheltered her as he forced himself forward lunging behind a nearby parked car to protect them from the bullets.

"What the hell?" Cobb cried out as he too fought to shelter himself behind the car. The shots increased with dramatic frequency, it seemed as if suddenly there were hundreds of hundreds of people firing at them.

Ariadne was so frightened that she could barely breathe. She watched Arthur prepare his gun- where he had pulled that form she didn't know- so he could shoot back. Ariadne desperately grabbed onto his leg trying to hold him back.

"Please," she begged looking up into his eyes. "Don't-"

"There's no other way Ariadne," Arthur said his voice surprisingly quite over the gunfire. Ariadne watched helplessly, her fingers relaxed their grip on him until she let go completely, letting her hands fall limply by her side. She could feel desperate tears welling up in her eyes.

She turned and watched as Cobb loaded his own gun. The frequency of shots increased yet again. The peaceful air around them dissolved into maddening shrieking of guns shots and the resulting hits.

Why wasn't anyone intervening? The police or someone? Anyone really. How could they let this continue out in the middle of the street in the middle of the day?

Ariadne huddled cramped up behind the miserable parked car that stood between her and the bullets. She curled her body up into the fetal position unable to control the violent shakes. In front of her Arthur and Cobb ducked and weaved behind bits of shelter. None of them ideal of course. Ariadne wished that they had given her a gun too.

She could tell from the number of shots being fired that there was a large group of people with guns. Ariadne wanted to look so that she could see what was going on but at the same time she knew that one moment of wayward curiosity could kill her.

However all her rational thought disappeared when she heard Cobb cry out in pain. He had been hit.

"Cobb!" Arthur yelled out running forward and trying to put himself in between Cobb and the shooters.

Ariadne couldn't help herself she looked around and saw that Cobb had been shot just above his knee, the sight of blood gushing out made her stomach jolt with a new sickness. She clutched her sides.

Arthur moved quickly to make a tourniquet from his jacket to act as a bandage. How he managed to do this without being shot Ariadne didn't know. But then she looked up and saw that the shooters had stopped shooting. Well, at least for the moment.

That one moment of quiet was all it took for her to snap as she dashed forwards toward Arthur and Cobb. Arthur swirled around his eyes flashing with anger and fear as he saw her.

"Ariadne no! Get back!" he shouted trying to hold onto her.

"Arthur we have to get him to a hospital!" Ariadne said trying to move past him but he was desperately blocking her with all his strength. Ariadne struggled realizing slowly that whatever was behind Arthur he didn't want her to see.

"Just go back Ariadne, it's not safe here!" Arthur said still pushing her away. She peered around him and what she saw made her whole body limp. She took a step back.

Cobb looked up from his agony. His fearful eyes suggesting that he had forgotten all about the pain and was instead worried about Ariadne.

Ariadne stood frozen to the spot as she saw who the shooters were. It was an army, an army of neatly dressed men, completely identical to either Arthur or Cobb and they were all slowly marching towards her in unison. Smiles on some faces, concerned looks upon others. Spasms of fear ran down her back.

The Arthur who had just bandaged Cobb took hold of her looking fiercely into her eyes. "No Ariadne! It's not what you think, we have to kill them!"

"No Ariadne!" a mimicking voice replied as the army of Arthur and Cobb clones advanced on them. "You can not let them destroy you, you must come with us, help us so we can defeat them!"

"Don't listen to them Ariadne!" Arthur said pointing his gun at the one talking. "Stay back!"

"No Ariadne, this is the only way you be free, have your old life back," The other Arthur continued. Ariadne was still frozen, unsure of what to believe.

"He's lying Ariadne,"

"Oh am I?" The clone Arthur replied he raised his gun and fired, Arthur only just getting out of the way before firing back. This time he was completely exposed. Swirls of colour went through Ariadne's head but there was no conscious thought or in fact any memory of what she did next. With the movement suddenly returned to her body she suddenly found Cobb's gun in her hands. She had never fired one before but had watched Cobb and Arthur often enough. Her hands trembling at the trigger she stared her opponent down.

"Ariadne," the clone Arthur spoke the rest of them remaining robotic in their stance. "Please believe us, we are your last hope."

The Arthur beside her took the opportunity to fire whilst they were distracted, though they didn't remain that way for long, returning fire with such speed that Arthur was hit almost instantly. Ariadne screamed as he hit the ground. She rushed over to grab onto him. With Cobb slowly turning white and Arthur newly wounded she was the only one left.

She wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but she knew that she couldn't trust someone who would shoot so mercilessly at Arthur. She turned to face her target and was surprised when a warm hand covered her shaking gun. She looked up into soft eyes and it took her a moment to realize that it was the clone Arthur and not the one he had and his army had left bleeding.

"You can't do this," he said softly. "Please believe me, this is your last chance to save yourself."

Ariadne's hand shook under the weight of her decision, suddenly those soft eyes were so hard to distinguish from those of the one she loved so much. Even though she knew that he could kill her and the two men her hand shook.

"Don't do it Ariadne," the clone continued. "Please-"

Ariadne clamped her eyes shut trying to regain her ability to think clearly.

"Shoot him Ariadne!" Arthur called from the ground. "It's a trick!"

Ariadne looked back at the clone and the soft, concerned expression on his face, he was so much like Arthur, could she really do this? Could she really hurt someone so much like Arthur? With trembling fingers she raised the gun. There was a large bang and she felt searing pain through her shoulder. Desperately clasping it she fell to the ground as Arthur cried out her name. Then everything when black.

A/N- Thanks for reading, bit of a weird chapter I know but all will make sense (hopefully) in the next and final chapter- Nerdy :)


	13. Chapter 13

The Seekers

Chapter Thirteen

Ariadne could still feel the crushing blow of the heavy building that had collapsed around her when she woke up. But wait that wasn't what happened was it? She had escaped the building. She felt stiff as her memories slowly came back to her. A strange pain took over her body. Somehow she had been knocked to the ground but as she reached out desperately trying to push herself up she found that the ground around her was soft. So soft that she didn't want to get up. She blinked and suddenly as she realized where she was the pain immediately faded.

She was lying in her bed in her apartment. She was sure of this. She looked around. The lights were dim making it hard to see. It took a moment before she came to her senses throwing off a drowsy slumber. If it weren't for the dizzying worry in her head she could have almost felt relaxed.

Everything around her seemed to indicate that she'd been in a deep sleep. Suddenly she sat upright breaking out into a cold sweat. The bed beneath her was suddenly anything but comforting. She suppressed an urge to scream when she felt a calming hand brush against her shoulder. She looked up surprised to see Arthur standing there in the same dark coat he had been wearing the first night he had visited her. He looked over at her, his brow furrowed and his lips thin.

"You're okay now Ariadne," he muttered. "It's all okay."

Ariadne could barely hear him. She couldn't decide whether she was more frightened or frustrated. What she did know however was that she desperately had to find Cobb and hold him hostage until she found out the truth.

"Don't give me that" Ariadne said trying to shaking off Arthur's touch. She flung back the covers and climbed out of her bed only to fall over drowsily. Her body felt stiff and cramped. She could feel sickness creeping into her veins.

"Ariadne please listen to me," Arthur said holding her up against him as her knees fell weak. His voice was more emotional than Ariadne had ever heard it but somehow he was still calm. "We shouldn't have done this to you but it was the only way."

Ariadne fell back onto her bed and was suddenly aware that she was wearing her favourite age old pajamas. She folded her arms across her chest in hopes of preserving some modesty, though that was hard to come by in pink worn nightwear with moo cows printed on them.

Then she realized that out of all the things she should be worrying about Arthur seeing in her childish Pjs was not one of them.

"Did what to me?" she asked almost too scared to hear the answer.

Arthur took a deep breath. "Can I sit?" he asked. Ariadne reluctantly moved over making room for him to sit beside her on her bed.

"I was never infected with Fisher's security devices, the Seekers. They never had a hold on my mind," Arthur began and Ariadne looked at him quizzically. It was such a strange thing to say.

"Then why?" Ariadne didn't even need to finish her question before it all clicked. "It was a trick! You and Cobb made me think it was you with the virus but it was really me, all this time..."

Arthur leant closer to her reaching out to stroke her face. "Please understand that it was the only way, telling you that the Seekers even existed was risky enough, if you had have been aware that you were infected they would have only become stronger."

Ariadne felt her tight breath release. She felt something like relief wash over her but there was also a growing sick feeling in her stomach. The thought that something foreign had entered her mind intent on destroying it was terrifying.

"If we alerted you in anyway to their presence they would have only been more vicious," Arthur explained his face very close to her own.

"Would have? Does that mean I'm cured?"

"We think so," Arthur said with a tired smile. "But it's too early to tell how much they affected you, you've only just woken up from the treatment."

Ariadne's relief quickly turned to disgust. She felt violated. Even though they couldn't notify her she still felt used. That they had made such big decisions about her body without consulting her made Ariadne feel like a child. Anger surged within her and for a moment she thought she was going to be sick.

"Please Ariadne all the hallucinations, skips in time were just the Seekers' method of attack, we had to sedate you so we could clear them from the different layers of your subconscious."

Ariadne nodded slowly but her eyes had narrowed into slits. It made sense but somehow she just couldn't believe it was true. It certainly didn't feel right.

"But I saw Mal," she said remembering the moment all of a sudden.

Arthur nodded. "I saw her too, it was all part of the testing, you may take awhile to recover, there are things that you may not be able to understand, but the major disturbances should cease, at least with time."

"How can I believe you?" Ariadne felt like crying.

"Ariadne," Arthur breathed softly. he reached out to stroke her face but she turned away. "We did what we could to save you, search your pocket for your totem, I guarantee that it will be there now."

Not moving her eyes from him, Ariadne reached into the pocket of her Pjs and immediately felt the cool touch of metal. She pulled out the chess piece turning it over and over in her fingertips, checking every inch of it just to be sure. She breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that it was her own. The tension in her shoulders relaxed.

"All that happens now is real Ariadne, you can choose to believe whatever you wish, but I can promise you this is real," this time she didn't flinch as he raised his fingertips to her face cupping her cheek in his hand. Ariadne melted with relief, she suddenly have have the energy or will power to argue, especially when Arthur was looking at her like that.

He twirled a piece of her hair around his fingertips watching her with a soft amusement.

"I'm sorry I shot you," Ariadne said smiling. "Even though it wasn't really you."

Arthur smiled. "You're forgiven, the Seekers would have destroyed you if you hadn't done it."

Ariadne had no idea how someone could talk about killing so lightly but here they were.

"Hopefully it's something I never have to do again." Ariadne smirked.

Arthur smiled his eyes facing downwards.

Ariadne bit her lip for a moment. There was something that she was eager to ask but was scared that it was too trivial. Then she realized she may never get another chance.

"Arthur?"

"Yes?"

Ariadne was almost put off by his suddenly stern expression but she proceeded. "You know when you were helping me look for my totem in my room?"

"Yes?" Arthur's eyebrows furrowed suggesting that he didn't quite understand what Ariadne was getting at.

"Was that part a dream?" Ariadne couldn't help the slightest suggestive wiggle of her eyebrows and immediately felt foolish but then saw Arthur's blush and knew that he knew exactly what she was hinting at.

"No," Arthur said turning around to play with a strand of loose hair. He looked directly into her eyes. "That part was definitely not a dream."

Ariadne stared at him for a moment, suddenly unable to breathe but she let him slowly close the gap between them as their lips met. They were just as soft as they had been before. Ariadne's eyes slowly closed as Arthur titled her head back so he could deepen their kiss. Suddenly he was all she could think about.

He continued to kiss her as his arms slipped around her drawing her close. Ariadne shivered a little the touch of his skin she let herself fall back to her bed and Arthur crouched above her, his usually neat hair falling into his face a little. Ariadne smiled as she brushed it away.

"Nothing like this is ever going to happen again Ariadne," Arthur promised. "You're free to walk away from this and soon enough things will return to normal, no more flickering visions, no halluciantions, no suddenly waking up in different places, it's finished."

Ariadne wrapped her hands around Arthur's neck and brought him close to her. "I'm so glad to hear that."

Arthur lent down to kiss her again. Ariadne felt the world around her melt. For the first time in a long time she felt at peace. She couldn't have said exactly how long it was they lay there like that, it felt like years and a mere moment both at once. Whatever the case Ariadne was happy she smiled at Arthur as he moved up from her bed. She watched him straightened out his clothes.

"I've got to get back to Cobb, it's probably best you rest here."

Ariadne rolled over to her side. She understood but knowing that Arthur was leaving made her sad at the same time.

"I'll be back soon," Arthur said after he had gathered his belongings. He walked over back to Ariadne and kissed her forehead. "I promise."

Ariadne nodded smiling. She felt a cold shiver run over her and through the room. She suddenly felt uneasy about being left alone, half expecting for the room to dissolve around her. She clung to her blankets as if this was going to stop it from happening.

Arthur smiled at her as if he could guess her thoughts. "You'll be fine Ariadne, I promise."

Ariadne nodded again she could feel herself growing sleeping, which was pretty strange considering all the sleep she'd just had. She pulled a blanket over her and watch Arthur gather up his wallet and keys.

He turned around to her and smiled but something about the way he smiled made Ariadne stiffen. It was so unnatural, almost forced in a robotic sense.

"Arthur?" she said about to ask him if he was ill or something when his form slowly began to flicker before her eyes before he disappeared all together.

A/N- Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed!


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